Physicians’ losses can contribute to burnout

Physicians regularly encounter losses: not only the death of patients but also more ambiguous losses, including changes in professional roles, duties, and identity. A family physician proposes that these ambiguous losses can cause stress and grief. If not acknowledged and addressed, physicians' grief can both contribute to burnout and be exacerbated by it. The solution, she suggests, is not resilience training for physicians but rather acknowledging their losses and supporting them in addressing their grief.